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FROM THE FIELD

Digital revolution comes to Burundi school
03 Nov 2009 09:18:00 GMT
 Source: World Emergency Relief (WER) - UK
Ben Carter

Website: Website: http://www.wer-uk.org

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These children are touching a computer for the first time
World Emergency Relief UK

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WER have funded a new computer lab at Himbaza school in Burundi. Over 600 children will now learn how to use computers and be able to access the internet; unlocking huge opportunities for their future.

For most of the children this will be the first time they have ever touched a computer.

The educational and developmental benefits of access to computers are well recognised. A simple internet connection in a classroom, combined with proper guidance, provides access to far more potential reference and educational materials than all but the vastest of libraries. With many schools surviving on an extremely limited stock of text books the impact of access to online knowledge and communities has huge potential.

In addition, employment opportunities for the IT literate are not limited by national boundaries. Instead internet technology has completely changed the dynamic between companies and suppliers. Highly skilled work such as design and coding is no longer the sole domain of developed countries.

Developments such as crowd-sourcing have meant that talented individuals and companies from across the world are able to compete for work and, in fact, bids from the developing world often have a distinct advantage in pricing. At the moment this is principally benefiting areas which already have a reputation for competitive software development such as India and South East Asia but there is absolutely no reason why Africa should not become an extremely competitive option.

But for children in Burundi there are huge obstacles in the way. Burundi, Central Africa, is one of the world's poorest countries with the lowest GDP per capita anywhere, so it is little surprise that computer literacy is limited. Just 0.7% of the population have access to the internet. This compares to 24.5% for the world population and 79.8% of the UK population. Those Burundians who do have access to the internet are largely from the government and the elite of society. Provision of education is limited, with nearly half of primary school aged children not enrolled in any school and certainly no computer training available for those that are.

Through local partners African Revival Ministries (ARM), World Emergency Relief UK has been supporting Himbaza School in capital city Bujumbara since 2003. The school currently has over 600 pupils from some of the poorest areas of the city. Many of these cannot afford even the lowest of school fees so there is a system of bursaries funded by WER ensuring that poverty is no block to access. In addition to the bursaries WER has also provided funds for essentials such as teachers' salaries and school equipment and the construction and refurbishment of classrooms and toilet facilities at the school.

The new IT suite is another way to ensure that children at the school get the best possible chances in life.

"In a country like Burundi we are not talking at this stage about an unrealistic objective of developing a large or even medium-sized tech industry," said WER Chief Executive Alex Haxton. "Instead projects like this IT suite are about giving individual children the edge to allow them to set up micro-businesses in the future that will bring much needed income to the country. In a country where the average wage is less than $2 a day, the income available online through open bids and competitions has the potential to transform lives. "

The IT suite will also bring an immediate short-term benefit to the school and the local community. Outside of class times the suite will be opened to the general public. For a small fee locals will be able to access the internet and take part in adult education classes. The money raised will help fund further children into education who would not otherwise be able to attend school.




[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Background information

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Last updated:Tue Nov 3 09:50:47 2009